


through limbs of trees you planted there long ago

by HanaMayhem



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Acceptance, F/F, Fear of Death, Gardens & Gardening, Growing Old Together, Immortality, Immortals loving mortals, Interspecies Romance, vague unexplained backstory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-08
Updated: 2011-08-08
Packaged: 2018-07-22 08:11:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7426978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HanaMayhem/pseuds/HanaMayhem
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>you can tell how old a tree is by how many rings are in its trunk, and you can tell how old a Harley is by how many wrinkles she gives to others. (or, how the short-lived more easily accept their ends than the long-lasting.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	through limbs of trees you planted there long ago

**Author's Note:**

> HAHAHA oh man this is old. This is so, so old. I wrote this back in 2011 under HanaMaehata for what I think was the first Homestuck Shipping Olympics as apart of Team JadeKanaya AKA Spaceshipping, when I still loved Homestuck dearly. There are a few things in here that really won't make sense, mostly because (like many things) I wrote this at the very last minute and wasn't able to add the details that I wanted to without it being turned in late. So there are a few lines in this that won't make sense, and I'd be happy to tell you what I was thinking, but
> 
> It's been five years, my friends, and I don't remember a gosh darn thing about what I meant to add. PLEASE ENJOY THIS STORY NONETHELESS, unedited from when I first shared it 5 years ago.

Your name is KANAYA HARLEY née MARYAM, and you are a little past 31 sweeps old; or in human terms, 68 years, yet you don’t look a day over 30. (The perks of being a rainbow drinker are many, but even if you weren’t you’d still look about the same.) You are married to ONE (1) JADE HARLEY, who is about the same age; give or take a few months. However, Jade is not a troll, nor is she a rainbow drinker. She very much looks her age, if one looks past the fact that her hair is essentially a rainbow.

You blame yourself for that mess. Jade did not realize that you were just kidding when you suggested that she dye her hair pink. In fact, not only did she completely miss the sarcasm, she insisted upon adding a plethora of colors. Her hair still holds all those colors, even if they are a little muted now.

There are many ‘weird’ or ‘quirky’ things you could recall about Jade. About how she still plays guitar, no matter how bad the pain in her hands gets; how she still talks about rebuilding a dreambot, just to see if she’s still got it; and just how wonderful she is at teaching. Really, you could go on and on. Maybe one day you’ll write a book about her, after she’s --

You don’t want to think about it. You know that one day, you’ll be alone. And as much as you want to grab her and never let go, there is nothing you can do about the situation you’ve allowed yourself to fall in. The others warned you that this would happen, but you didn’t listen. You spend another night tossing and turning next to the peacefully sleeping Jade, before finally passing out.

When you hear the alarm go off, you instinctively reach over to Jade’s side of the bed to wake her up; except she isn’t there, and the alarm went off a good two hours later than it should have. You go into a panic, and you nearly toss the blanket across the room. You slam the snooze button before turning the alarm off for the day. You toss your sports bra and underwear from the night into a dirty clothes hamper, and hastily toss on a fresh pair of skivvies before damn near running down stairs.

”Jade, I keep telling you not to adjust the time on the alarm. I have it set to 7AM for a reason,” you shout through the house before heading out back, finding Jade… simply working on the garden, in her favorite white blouse and ugly-cute blue and orange knee length pumpkin-print skirt. She notices you in the door way, and looks up from her digging to smile and wave at you. You blink and remember; it’s Sunday. You force a smile and wave back. You’ll talk to her about resetting your alarm later.

"I’ll head inside in a bit, Kanaya,” Jade shouts from the fledgling mint patch, ever dedicated in her horticultural pursuits. “There’s coffee already brewed if you want some!” You’ll head back in shortly (coffee sounds great right about now), but first:

”Would you like me to bring you a jacket? It’s freezing out here.” You make a point to keep your toes away from doorway, so as to not let the chill get to you. In reply, Jade whips back to turn to you.

”I completely forgot! No wonder I was so cold, hehe!” Jade finishes planting the mint herb she was working on, before standing up and dusting herself off. “I’ll come in with you; once you get dressed, you can help me with the daffodils!” Her grin is ever-present; long after she stops smiling, the wrinkles on her face hold her gleeful expression. As she approaches the doorway, you can’t help but pinch her cheeks a little bit. Jade bats away your hand, her face now turned into a pout.

”Hey hey hey! I would appreciate if you would not baby me,” she says, hands on her hips and tapping her foot.

”I apologize, Jade. It is a little difficult to resist the urge.”

”Well what if I couldn’t resist the urge to tug on your horns?”

”That is different entirely. You know how I get, Jade! No, stop, really – Jade what are you doing leave my horns alone,” you argue, trying to convince her not to grab them. It does not work, and she chases you into the kitchen, laughing and jumping after you (height differences are a bitch), and finally at the doorway of the dining room --

”Hahahaha, victory! How does defeat taste, Mrs. Harley?” Jade’s tugging you down, along with your horns, her hands tightly wrapped around them. Her laughter has evolved into an evil but delightful cackle.

”Alright, Mrs. Harley, I understand. I shall cease my frivolous habits at once,” you submit, wriggling, wincing, and trying to shake the shorter Harley off. She lets go, and blows a raspberry at you before reaching to the cabinets to grab a mug.

”Good! Now then –“ she feels around for a handle and grabs a pink and red striped mug, “—what else should we plant? I was thinking maybe some primroses, too, but I’m not sure! We could also try growing some apples this year, so we can make our own apple cider when fall comes! Wouldn’t that be great? We’ll definitely have to grow pumpkins again, I think everyone liked my pumpkin pie. I liked it, at least! And then maybe…” She continues to ramble on about the garden, and what to plant this year. Jade proceeds to list off all the things she’d like to work this year: strawberries, asparagus, eggplant, roses, and chili peppers, even.

”While I would be willing to assist you with these, I believe we should spend a little more focus on what we are planting this season. Did you remember to ask Principal Callahan which store has the tarp we need to protect the plants?” Jade pauses, her mouth open for a moment. She shakes her head.

”I guess I got so excited, I forgot! I have a tendency to –"

”—Do that lately, I know,” you say, your mood noticeably drained. You move to sit at your small, round dining table. Jade follows suite, taking the seat across from you. She purses her lips in contemplation.

”At least I remembered to put clothes on?” She gives you a half-hearted smile and a shrug. You stick your tongue out her in response. Jade lets out a sigh, before taking your hands and holding them in hers. “Do you…want to talk about it?” Her mouth is only slightly open, the green saucers she calls her eyes focused on you through her ridiculously round glasses.

”I… no.” You look out the window, avoiding her gaze. “I do not wish to think about it, much less discuss it."

”I’m scared too, Kanaya. I don’t… I don’t want to die, either! But there is, there’s –“

”Nothing we can do about it! I know, Jade,” you blurt out as you whip around to face her. Jade grips your hands, feeling them tremble. “I will have to watch you pass away, and no matter what I will do, there is not a damn thing I can change.” You can see your vision blurring, and – of course, of course now, of all times, you’re starting to tear up. You try to bury your face into your arms. She doesn’t need to see you cry.

”I – I’m sorry, Jade.”  
”For what?” You can hear the anxiety in her voice.  
”For everything. For not saying I love you enough, for worrying too much about appearances, for spending so much time working, for leaving you to wait for a year, for –“  
”I will accept your apology about worrying about what I look like too much. I have impeccable taste! But you don’t need to apologize for the rest of any that stuff.”  
”But –“  
”No buts! I know you were working so that we wouldn’t have to worry about money, and you know that wasn’t your fault. The war split almost everyone up,” Jade murmurs, almost quiet as a mouse. You look up to face her, and she leaning over the table.

”I should have fought for you.” She smiles.  
"Shoulda, coulda, woulda. And…” Jade leans just a little closer. You can see little droplets forming at her crow’s feet. “You don’t always need to say how you feel.” A pause.  
”Jade.”  
”Yes?” She bats her eyes at you.  
”You stole that last line from the movie we watched last week,” you mutter, a small chuckle managing to escape. She pulls away and frowns.  
”I was sort of hoping you wouldn’t remember!” You let a few more laughs through your lips.  
”I am not the one who needed to wrap strings around my fingers to recall details from the clouds, silly girl.” Jade blows another raspberry your direction, before pulling you into an embrace. She wraps her arms around your neck, while you weave your hands into her tangled mess of colored hair, and for a moment, you both stay there, refusing to let go. You think you could stay like this forever.  
”I don’t regret any of this, Kanaya,” she whispers into your ear.  
”Nor do I, Jade. Nor do I,” you reciprocate in an equally hushed voice. Jade gets on the very tips of her toes and pulls you into a kiss, crashing her puckered lips against yours clumsily. She breaks off the kiss, with a loud, present, ‘mwah!’ and intertwines her fingers with your own.  
”Do one thing for me, when I’m gone,” she commands.  
”Anything.”  
”I want you to carpe the fuck out of that diem.” You curl your lips into a smile and nod, wiping away the last of your tears. “Now, go get dressed so we can plant the daffodils, mmkay?” She beams at you, arms are crossed with confidence.

”I will be sure to do that. I would not want the neighbors gazing upon my innocent virgin body.” You strike a pose and mock a pout before walking to the stairs. You halt mid-step, and turn to face her again. “Oh, and Jade?”

”Yeah?”  
”Let’s find an apple tree sapling today.”  
”Of course.”


End file.
